"The key to buying a car is research; in order to find the best one, research the model, the problems it faced, and talk with mechanics/previous owners. My mechanic (who specializes in German cars) told me to avoid the 550 models due to electronic problems, especially air suspension. And after checking out the e class, I made sure to buy the face lifted model from 07-09, as the 03-06 faced many issues and latter models were improved significantly. I found a 2008 E350 4Matic (No air suspension) with 85,000 miles for 11,000. I bought it and I absolutely love this car. I bought this car last year and now I have 112,000 miles (yes I drive a lot). The only problems I had were standard maintenance items like a fuel pump and the front CV axle rubber boots (they tend to rip after 100K miles on any car). The most annoying issue I faced was cracked rims; 06-14 models have defective/weak rims that were prone to cracking from regular driving. Not a big deal, I replaced the rims and the car is absolutely gorgeous. The interior is very solid, the car rides very smooth, the V6 is plentiful in power, and both the interior and exterior look timeless. If you want a sports car, this is not it; get a 535xi. The E350 is designed with ride comfort in mind, that being said, even the V6 is no slow poke at all. The only thing I do not like is the 5 speed gearbox with the 4Matics; it is clumsy at times and shifts awkwardly at times. Again, not a big issue and I am knit-picking at this point. This car was well worth the money and I am extremely satisfied with this car. The key to maintaining any European car is preventative maintenance; I have my alignment done twice a year, rotate my tires every 7500 miles, change my oil every 5K miles (may be a bit often, but it never hurts), use only premium 93 gas, etc. If you treat the car well, it will treat you well and you will avoid the expensive costs. Plus I am a college student, so my budget is not high at all."

Class Ride

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

9/10

Value

10/10

Reliability

9/10

Quality

10/10

Performance

10/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

9/10

"Purchased a used one with 75K miles. Now have over 100K miles. Only problem was burned out light bulb. Very pleased with ride and comfort. Excellent road car for long trips. Very pleased with fuel economy. Plan to buy a new one when this one hits 200K miles. You can really tell the favorable difference between this and American/Japanese cars."

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

10/10

Value

10/10

Reliability

10/10

Quality

10/10

Performance

10/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

10/10

"I drove the 2008 E320 Bluetec from Stuttgart to Munich for five days in terrible rain. It handled superbly on the autobahn as well as the mountain back roads. The only drawback is that the wiper blades are not fast enough in heavy rains. The defogger worked, the road handling was superb and the power to handle the autobahn was there when called upon. The gas mileage was more than projected. Nice comfortable ride and easy to handle."

2008 Bluetec Diesel

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

10/10

Value

10/10

Reliability

10/10

Quality

10/10

Performance

10/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

10/10

"Picked mine up last Friday. Beautiful and I'm getting better than 30 MPG in combined city/highway - commute is 50% each and in DC traffic that is something! Only disappointment is in the Bluetooth MHI. I can use multiple phones - one at a time - but the phone books does not sync. AWS - wirelss provider for MB wants to sell very high priced Razor phones - the kind you get for free! Bottomline - use the phone handsfree - it already has a telephone book in it!"

Luxury with performance

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

10/10

Value

9/10

Reliability

10/10

Quality

10/10

Performance

10/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

10/10

"The E500 is no doubt a good looking luxurious car. The icing on the cake is that it runs like a scalded ape and handles better than a lot of sports cars. The ride is comfortable with plenty of room inside. It's quiet and has a great sound system. Long trips go by in a flash and daily commutes are stressless. I got 19 mpg around the city and 26 mpg on the highway at an average speed of 80 mph! I have the driving dynamic seats (which aren't available anymore I hear). Absolutely the best thing since sliced bread. There are only a few annoying issues I have with the car. One is the electrical engine cooling fan. When its running, it sounds like a 747 taking off if you're outside the car. Don't hear much inside the car. The other is active suspension which occasionally "farts" which sound like someone letting air out of a ballon by squeezing the outlet. Embarassing to say the least. In 4 years, there were a few electronic glitches but nothing the dealer couldn't fix or typical for any car with as many "bells and whistles," even a Lexyota. The style, luxury, performance and quality is superb. Despite the few issues, this is a great car and I highly recommend it!"